The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible New Testament (17 page)

The Parable of the Two Sons

28
 "What do you think?
A man had two sons
; and he went to the first and said, 'Son, go and work in the vineyard today.'
²⁹
And he answered, 'I will not'; but afterward he repented and went.
³⁰
And he went to the second and said the same; and he answered, 'I go, sir,' but did not go.
³¹
Which of the two did the will of his father?" They said, "The first." Jesus said to them, "Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you.
³²
For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the harlots believed him; and even when you saw it, you did not afterward repent and believe him.

The Parable of the Wicked Tenants

33
 "Hear another parable. 
*
There was a householder
who planted a vineyard, and set a hedge around it, and dug a wine press in it, and built a tower, and leased it to tenants, and went into another country.
³⁴
When the season of fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants, to get his fruit;
³⁵
and the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another.
³⁶
Again he sent other servants, more than the first; and they did the same to them.
³⁷
Afterward he sent his son to them, saying, 'They will respect my son.'
³⁸
But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, 'This is the heir; come, let us kill him and have his inheritance.'
³⁹
And they took him and cast him out of the vineyard, and killed him.
⁴⁰
When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?"
⁴¹
They said to him, "He will put those wretches to a miserable death, and lease the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons."

The Stone Which the Builders Rejected

42
 Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in
the Scriptures
:

  
'The very stone which the builders rejected

  
has become the cornerstone;

  
this was the Lord's doing,

  
and it is marvelous in our eyes'?

⁴³
Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and
given to a nation
producing the fruits of it.
⁴⁴
And he who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; but when it falls on any one, it will crush him."
 
^q

45
 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he was speaking about them.
⁴⁶
But when they tried to arrest him, they feared the multitudes, because they held him to be a prophet.

The Parable of the Marriage Feast

22
  
And
again Jesus spoke to them
in parables, saying,
²
"The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a
marriage feast
for his son,
³
and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the marriage feast; but they would not come.
⁴
Again he sent other servants, saying, 'Tell those who are invited, Behold, I have made ready my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves are killed, and everything is ready; come to the marriage feast.'
⁵
But they made light of it and went off, one to his farm, another to his business,
⁶
while the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them.
⁷
The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.
⁸
Then he said to his servants, 'The wedding is ready, but those invited were not worthy.
⁹
Go therefore to the streets, and invite to the marriage feast as many as you find.'
¹⁰
And those servants went out into the streets and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good; so the wedding hall was filled with guests.

11
 "But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had
no wedding garment
; 
*
¹²
and he said to him, 'Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?' And he was speechless.
¹³
Then the king said to the attendants, 'Bind him hand and foot, and cast him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'
¹⁴
For many are called, but few are chosen."

The Question about Paying Taxes

15
 
Then the Pharisees went
and took counsel how to entangle him in his talk.
¹⁶
And they sent
their disciples
to him, along with the Hero'di-ans, saying, "Teacher, we know that you are true, and teach the way of God truthfully, and care for no man; for you do not regard the position of men.
¹⁷
Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?"
¹⁸
But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, "Why put me to the test, you hypocrites?
¹⁹
Show me the money for the tax." And they brought him
a coin
.
 
^r
20
And Jesus said to them, "Whose likeness and inscription is this?"
²¹
They said, "
Caesar's
." Then he said to them, "Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."
²²
When they heard it, they marveled; and they left him and went away.

The Question about Man's Resurrection

23
 The same day
Sad'ducees
came to him, who say that there is no resurrection; and they asked him a question,
²⁴
saying, "Teacher, Moses said, '
If a man dies
, having no children, his brother must marry the widow, and raise up children for his brother.'
²⁵
Now there were seven brothers among us; the first married, and died, and having no children left his wife to his brother.
²⁶
So too the second and third, down to the seventh.
²⁷
After them all, the woman died.
²⁸
In the resurrection, therefore, to which of the seven will she be wife? For they all had her."

29
 But Jesus answered them, "You are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God.
³⁰
For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are
like angels
 
^s
in heaven.
³¹
And as for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was said to you by God,
³²
'
I am the God of Abraham
, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'? He is not God of the dead, but of the living."
³³
And when the crowd heard it, they were astonished at his teaching.

The Greatest Commandment

34
 But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sad'ducees, they came together.
³⁵
And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question, to test him.
³⁶
"Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?"
³⁷
And he said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.
³⁸
This is the great and first commandment.
³⁹
And a second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
⁴⁰
On
these two commandments
depend all the law and the prophets."

A Question about the Christ

41
 Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question,
⁴²
saying, "What do you think of the Christ? Whose son is he?" They said to him, "The son of David."
⁴³
He said to them, "How is it then that David, inspired by the Spirit,
 
^t
calls him Lord, saying,

⁴⁴
'The Lord said to my Lord,

  
Sit at my right hand,

  
till I put your enemies under your feet'?

⁴⁵
If David thus
calls him Lord
, how is he his son?"
⁴⁶
And no one was able to answer him a word, nor from that day did any one dare to ask him any more questions.

Jesus Denounces the Hypocrisyof the Scribes and Pharisees

23
  
Then said Jesus to
the crowds
and to his disciples,
²
"The scribes and the Pharisees sit on
Moses' seat
;
³
so practice and observe whatever they tell you, but not what they do; for they preach, but do not practice.
⁴
They bind heavy burdens, hard to bear,
 
^u
and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with their finger.
⁵
They do all their deeds to be seen by men; for they make
their phylacteries
 
*
broad and their fringes long,
⁶
and they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues,
⁷
and salutations in the market places, and being called
rabbi
by men.
⁸
But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brethren.
⁹
And
call no man your father
on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. 
*
¹⁰
Neither be called masters, for you have one master, the Christ.
¹¹
He who is greatest among you shall be your servant;
¹²
whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

13
 "But
woe to you
, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because you shut the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither enter yourselves, nor allow those who would enter to go in.
 
^v
15
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you traverse sea and land to make
a single proselyte
, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell
 
^w
as yourselves.

16
 "Woe to you,
blind guides
, who say, 'If any one swears by the temple, it is nothing; but if any one swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.'
¹⁷
You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that has made the gold sacred?
¹⁸
And you say, 'If any one swears by the altar, it is nothing; but if any one swears by the gift that is on the altar, he is bound by his oath.'
¹⁹
You blind men! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred?
²⁰
So he who swears by the altar, swears by it and by everything on it;
²¹
and he who swears by the temple, swears by it and by him who dwells in it;
²²
and he who swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God and by him who sits upon it.

23
 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you tithe
mint and dill and cummin
, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law, justice and mercy and faith; these you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.
²⁴
You blind guides, straining out
a gnat
and swallowing a camel!